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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 002121
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2019
TAGS: PRELPARMTSPLKNNPETTCENGRGTRGYIN
SUBJECT: U/S BURNS AND FS RAO REVIEW PROGRESS ON U.S.-INDIA
STRATEGIC DIALOGUE
Classified By: Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer for Reasons 1.4 (B and D)
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Under
Secretary for Political Affairs Bill Burns discussed progress
on the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue and Prime Minister
Singh's official state visit to Washington November 22-26.
Over the course of an initial one-on-one meeting, a bilateral
session, and a regional issues lunch (septel), they agreed
both governments are on the "same page" regarding the visit.
Burns and Rao expressed support for the idea of a Green
Initiative with a focus on clean energy and food security.
Looking to Copenhagen, Rao was generally positive on the
Danish proposal to draft a short accord and focus the
discussion on domestic initiatives. Burns and Rao agreed to
pursue a MOU on counterterrorism, a systematic
nonproliferation dialogue, and a possible roadmap for
liberalizing U.S. export controls vis-a-vis India. Rao
confirmed that India would announce its reactor sites in the
near future (the announcement was made the evening of October
16) and continued to review the Part 810 license assurances.
Rao sought public U.S. support for India's aspirations for a
permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Burns explained
that the United States continued its internal review of UN
Security Council reform. END SUMMARY.
The PM Visit and Beyond
-----
¶2. (SBU) On October 16 Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and
visiting Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bill Burns,
joined by Ambassador Roemer, Assistant Secretary for South
and Central Asia Bob Blake and NSC Acting Senior Director
Anish Goel, discussed the progress of the U.S.-India
Strategic Dialogue and Prime Minister Singh's official state
visit to Washington November 22-26. Rao remarked that the
Indian government was keen to make the Prime Minister's
Washington trip a "landmark visit" and expressed appreciation
for Secretary Clinton's personal oversight of the Strategic
Dialogue. Rao welcomed the general agreement on the tangible
outcomes for the PM's visit and hoped for a joint statement
that would send a strong message regarding future bilateral,
regional, and global collaboration. Rao and Burns credited
the series of high-level visits with establishing the
foundation for a successful summit. The Strategic Security
Dialogue, the Education Dialogue, the Women's Empowerment
Dialogue and the Global Issues Forum would meet before
November to identify outcomes for the joint statement. Burns
shared Rao's optimism regarding the "enormous potential" of
the bilateral partnership, as well as her conviction to
leverage the PM visit to further tangible progress on
bilateral cooperation.
Green Initiative and Climate Change
-----
¶3. (SBU) Both Rao and Burns expressed support for the idea of
a Green Initiative as a creative way to approach the
interrelated issues of clean energy and food security. They
concurred on areas for energy cooperation and technology
transfer, including renewable, solar, and wind energy. Rao
shared Prime Minister Singh's plan to mainstream the climate
change debate as part of an overall inclusive growth
strategy. Both sides saw merit in a joint research center
and a possible USD 100 million Green Fund to finance new
technology and innovation projects (drawn from USG, Indian
government, and private sector contributions). Burns
anticipated that attracting private sector investment to the
Green Fund would not be problematic, but acknowledged that
identifying government funding could require more time. He
underlined that announcing the intention to establish such a
fund might demonstrate both governments' practical approach
to the issues. Rao reminded Burns that GOI awaited a
response to its MOU on Clean and Efficient Energy and Climate
Change that Deputy Planning Commissioner Ahluwalia presented
to Energy Secretary Chu on September 11. Observing common
ground on the "key ingredients," Burns cautioned the USG may
decide against a broad MOU. On food security, Rao and Burns
hoped to focus efforts on food processing, farm-to-market
links, and weather forecasting. Rao promised that a revised
non-paper on agriculture would be forthcoming.
NEW DELHI 00002121 002 OF 003
¶4. (C) Burns observed that the December UN Climate Conference
in Copenhagen "loomed large" over the Prime Minister's visit,
and stressed the importance of Indian cooperation on climate
issues. He told Rao that President Obama had responded
favorably to the Danish proposal for a brief political accord
followed by legal drafting after the conference. Rao
confirmed the Danes had pitched the same proposal to the GOI
and India was "absolutely willing" to share its domestic
initiatives on climate change, including solar energy and
reforestation. The GOI would not object to reorienting the
conversation in this manner, so long as it did not appear
that India had bowed to external pressure.
Strategic Cooperation - CT, Defense, and Export Controls
-----
¶5. (SBU) Burns recommended both governments pursue practical
areas of collaboration identified by Home Minister
Chidambaram following his September visit to the United
States, including coastal security, policing megacities, and
rail security. Acknowledging the time needed by the GOI for
an interagency review, Burns promised to try to send the GOI
a draft counterterrorism MOU by next week. The MEA hoped New
York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly would
accept the government's invitation to conduct a workshop on
policing megacities in India. Rao also sought U.S. support
for the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
(CCIT), which India introduced in the UN in 1996.
¶6. (C) Burns and Rao appreciated the value of a systematic
nonproliferation dialogue, especially considering
opportunities in multilateral fora over the next several
years. Rao welcomed President Obama's call for universal
disarmament and congratulated the President on winning the
Nobel Peace Prize. Rao flagged Pakistan's views on the
Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.
¶7. (SBU) Burns and Rao agreed that defense cooperation was an
area of great potential and Rao said the GOI looked forward
to welcoming Defense Secretary Gates to India. Following the
End Use Monitoring (EUM) agreement, both governments
anticipated increased access for U.S. defense companies to
the India market. Burns observed that the benefits of EUM
extended beyond defense sales, as subsequent joint exercises
and training would lead to greater mutual understanding.
Ambassador Roemer suggested that the United States and India
consider increased cooperation on humanitarian and disaster
relief and anti-piracy efforts, even if specific agreements
would not be reached by November.
¶8. (SBU) Burns affirmed that the United States will attempt
to draft a roadmap for the first phase in liberalizing U.S.
export controls applicable to India. The roadmap would
outline several steps each government must take to move
forward. The Prime Minister's visit would provide momentum
for the next phase in reexamining the issue. Rao encouraged
the USG to review its entities list and consider removing
Indian defense labs, as it was "absolutely clear" such labs
were not engaged in WMD development or deployment. She also
requested that the United States reconsider space research
entities, to move the bilateral partnership to "the final
frontier."
Civil Nuclear Cooperation
-----
¶9. (C) Rao confirmed the GOI's intention to announce reactor
park sites for U.S. firms "very soon." (These were announced
on the evening of October 16.) With regard to the
reprocessing consultations, she agreed that both sides needed
to address issues of multiple facilities, physical security,
and a safeguards program. Burns urged the GOI to assume a
"problem-solving" approach to the third round of reprocessing
negotiations planned for November 5-6 in Vienna. Ambassador
Roemer asked whether the GOI had reviewed examples of similar
arrangements with others, such as Japan, as a possible
precedent. He also inquired whether the Part 810 license
assurances provided by other countries -- including the UK,
Germany, and China -- and shared with the GOI helped allay
NEW DELHI 00002121 003 OF 003
India's concerns with this process. J/S Kumar responded that
the Department of Atomic Energy was considering the draft
reprocessing arrangement text and promised a response within
several days. A/S Blake asked whether the GOI had made its
IAEA declaration of facilities public. Rao responded, "We
have done what we needed to do and are prepared to tell the
world."
Other Summit Outcomes
-----
¶10. (SBU) Burns and Rao agreed to pursue the following
Strategic Dialogue outcomes: the Obama-Singh Higher Education
Fund, the CEO Forum -- including "cross fertilization"
opportunities in the education and health sub-dialogues, the
Global Disease Detection Program, and polio eradication.
After addressing the opening of the Indian consulates in
Seattle and Atlanta during the one-on-one, Rao said the GOI
would try to resolve several issues. Rao relayed the GOI's
approval of the upcoming World War II MIA Accountability
Command (JPAC mission) to India in early November, but would
review the mission's progress before committing to future
commitments.
UNSC Reform
-----
¶11. (C) Rao told Burns that while India appreciated
Ambassador Susan Rice's willingness to clarify the U.S.
stance, the GOI continued to pursue "passionately" a
permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC). She did not
believe differences on Security Council reform were
insurmountable and hoped the United States would support
India's aspirations in a joint statement released during the
PM's visit. Rao proposed the United States consider the
joint statement between India and China as a potential model
of including a UNSC nod. Burns said Ambassador Rice valued
the consultations with Indian Permanent Representative Puri.
He explained the Obama administration continued its
systematic internal review on Security Council Reform and
pledged to consult India and others as the review progressed.
He cautioned, however, against any expectation of a public
step forward on this issue during the Singh visit.
ROEMER